Tag Archives: sunday brunch

Something that a lot of you know about me already is that I like brunch. A lot. Like, whoa, baby, big time. I brunch like a boss; some might call me a bross (I’m not exactly sure who exactly, but I am pretty certain I could get Andy to). Anyway, I was absolutely delighted when my brother-in-law and his new wife invited us (and other family members) to brunch with them the day after the ceremony. My favorite meal, on a Sunday Funday, in a new city, with people I like hanging out with? It doesn’t get much better than that.

Sunday, we clown-cared into an Uber with Andy’s mom and dad and headed over to Pearls Southern Comfort to check out some elevated “southern style” food. As a southern girl born and raised, I felt like there was only two ways for this whole thing to go. Fortunately, everything we tried came down squarely on the positive side of things. With a larger group like ours, we got to try a decent number of menu items. Especially since we don’t mind sharing with one another. All said and done, I got to sample the following: Crawfish Cheesecake, Beignets, Blackened Catfish & Eggs, French Toast, and Cornbread with Hot Sauce Honey Butter. It’s hard to declare a clear favorite; the cheesecake was incredible – and not to mention my first savory cheesecake, if you ever make it to Pearls you have to try it -, but if this was going to be a regular haunt for me, I would have to go with the catfish and force someone to split the cornbread with me. Catfish is hard to do well, even in the south, and this was some of the best I’ve ever had. Same with the cornbread. The bread itself was delicious, but that hot sauce honey butter really pushed it over the top.

Not the fanciest place we ate at on our trip, but from food to ambiance, I think this was my favorite. It’s almost a little disappointing when I enjoy something as much as I did this place. When I travel I like to try new places every visit, but now I am going to have to make sure that any subsequent visits to Chicago includes a meal at Pearls or I’ll regret the missed opportunity. First World Problems, am I right?

Since brunch is pretty much my favorite meal EVER, I knew I was going to have to try the one at Blu Halo a restaurant that opened practically five minutes from our front door. We’ve been twice now, once with a group and once just the two of us, and I have to say we were pretty pleased both times we went.

Now I am going to go ahead and throw out the small handful of negatives I have before we get to the much more plentiful “good stuff” . 1-price, the menu is on the higher side for brunch here in town, and many of the items are worth the investment, but there are a few things that I personally felt missed the mark a bit. 2- menu options. I am a pescetarian which is a bit odd when dining out anyway, but the menu options were very limited for someone like me. Now on to the good stuff. This place is by far the “fanciest” restaurant in the area, and the hostesses and wait staff go above and beyond to give you the best dining experience possible. Also, the place is spotless, and the staff is fantastic at keeping things cleared away and wiped down, a strange thing to note I know, but I always consider extra attention to cleanliness a plus. To the food!Apple Jacks French Toast – this was one of the meh, menu items for me. It was super sweet, and I ended up giving most of it to Andy in return for some of his waffle. Chicken & Waffles – Now obviously I didn’t try the chicken part of this, but Andy said it was some of the best fried chicken he’s had, and the waffles were crispy, fluffy, vanilla-y amazingness. Shrimp & Grits – a southern staple and one of the things I was most disappointed about not being able to eat (the sauce has ham & sausage in it), but my friend ordered it and she said it was good. A little bit of heat, the shrimp were well spiced, and the grits were creamy and perfect. Steak & Eggs – This is Andy’s favorite thing he has had there yet. Flavorful chimmichuri sauce, tender steak, crispy potatoes, and peppery micro greens. I stole a few of the potatoes, and I can honestly say that they were awesome and the sauce was herbaceous; I could see how it would help balance the richness of the steak and the fried egg.

So there you have it, a great local place, and for us, it is perfect for those weekend mornings where you don’t really want to stray too far from the house, but you don’t feel like cooking either.

In an effort to continue trying new places trend, this weekend Andy and I headed over to the college side of town to get our brunch on. For those of you who don’t know, Tallahassee has two very different parts: the areas around the university where bars and fast food abound and then the rest of the city that is less “GO NOLES!” and more farmers markets, funky restaurants, and places to shop. There is a ton of great food to be had on either side, but this week we decided to try out a place that has received great reviews, Prime Time.

When we pulled in to the parking lot, I had to laugh a bit. When I was in college, Prime Time was Buffalo Wild Wings, or B-Dubs as my roommate’s boyfriend affectionately referred to it. It was a nice little nostalgic moment. The inside was a little strange, a sort of swanky sports bar theme that was neither swanky nor sports bar-y enough for things to really work, but it was dim, cool, and the seats were comfy, which I realized was perfect for a large portion of the customers stumbling in – hungover college students. The food was solidly okay; the sweet potato fries and the home fries were amazing, but everything else was just good. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing to make the drive across town worth it either.

We did have a bit of an issue with our waiter (although the rest of the staff was wonderful); he was not really interested in waiting on our table. He screwed up our order and brought us three full meals instead of the two meals and an appetizer we ordered. He begrudgingly stopped by a couple times to give us refills, but most of the time he was hovering around the table of hung over girls next to us. Dude was getting his flirt on hard core, sliding into the booth to explain the complexities of the menu and keeping their bottomless mimosas topped off. Part of me found the whole thing pretty funny, and I kept a running commentary going since Andy’s back was to the table and he couldn’t see everything that was happening, but the other part of me was a little annoyed. Pouring alcohol into four young girls that were hungover, one of which kept excusing herself to the bathroom to throw up, was messed up. All that being said, I don’t think we’ll be heading back for brunch anytime soon. I think this means I am getting old.

Continuing with my new need for brunch exploration, we tried out a local favorite The Edison Restaurant. The Edison is housed in what once was The City Electric Building which was built in 1921 to help meet the demand for electricity in the rapidly growing city. It is also located near the edge of Cascades Park, so outdoor diners have the added benefit of a lovely view of the park.

Immediately, I fell in love with the decor: preserved brick, innovative fixtures, and lots and lots of light. Plus, the booth we sat in was super plush and comfy.

I kicked off brunch with a Rose Water Lemonade, and after some consideration, my dining companions both decided to go with the Steak and Eggs while I went for the Crepes Suzette and a side of the Blacked Homefries.

The crepes were okay, the sauce was pretty boozy, and since I don’t drink, I found it a wee bit off putting. The others were over the moon about their Steak and Eggs though, lending largely to the spicy cheese sauce drizzled over the egg and cheese portion of their plates. They were right; it was so good. I even traded Andy the rest of my crepes and homefries for some of his potatoes (you know once the icky steak part was gone :P).

All and all, we had a great time, and we are thinking about having Andy’s birthday dinner there later this year. If brunch is that good, I am excited to see what they can do with dinner.

I’m very big on brunch; it’s my favorite meal of the week. I am also fortunate enough to have friends who feel the same way and are more than willing to meet up and help me indulge in my addiction. Lately, we’ve been trying to expand our culinary horizons a bit and deviate from our tried and true favorites. This past weekend, we tried out Liberty Bar & Restaurant.

Located in Midtown, I was a little worried about parking, since space is always at a premium, but Liberty is located near Joe Mama’s and Lucky Goat, which have a decent amount of parking. The added bonus was if there weren’t any tables we’d have other food options. 😉

Luckily, we got there shortly after they opened and were seated right away. We did note on our way out, however, that both the indoor and outdoor tables were almost all gone.

The food was really good; we left wishing we’d opted for stretchier pants. Our waitress was very sweet, and she made sure that we understood the menu and was willing to make accommodations for any dietary restrictions.

All in all, I would absolutely come back. I wouldn’t recommend it for larger groups; they have signs posted saying they can not accommodate groups larger than twelve, plus it also is a little dark and pretty loud, which is not always optimal for interacting with the rest of your group. The only other negative I’d add was that some of the staff seemed to have an issue with me taking pictures. No one told me to stop, but I felt the dirty looks from the bar staff were unwarranted since 1 – let’s be honest, we live in an Instagram world, 2 – my camera was never directed at any people, and 3 – most places encourage social media shout outs and online reviews. Oh well, maybe I just caught them on an off day, and it wasn’t bad enough to keep me from wanting to go back.